Pleas for shorter sentences rarely receiving second look

Families want thoughtful review of commutation applications

Nov. 3, 2013

James Blose talks Monday about his commutation request at Allen Correctional Institution in Lima. Blose has served nine years of a sen- tence of 13 years to life for killing his wife. / James Miller/CentralOhio.com

Written by

CentralOhio.com

Edward Hill, an inmate at Warren Correctional Institution, was convicted of aggravated murder. Hill is trying to apply for commutations after serving close to 24 years with the hope he can see the parole board. He is not scheduled to see the board until 2049. / Brent Lewis/CentralOhio.com

Few commutations applicants receive hearings

Year

Applications

Percent who had hearings

2003

80

13.8 percent

2004

209

2.4 percent

2005

98

6.1 percent

2006

147

4.1 percent

2007

149

1.3 percent

2008

97

7.2 percent

2009

73

1.4 percent

2010

321

3.7 percent

2011

205

0 percent

2012

229

0 percent

First half 2013

123

0.8 percent

SOURCE: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction reports

How a commutation works

1) The individual files an application for executive clemency with the Ohio Parole Board, including letters of support, the inmate’s institutional record and an explanation of why the application has merit. Many file these applications without an attorney. There are three kinds of clemency: pardons, commutations and reprieves. A pardon, which is the most common form of clemency, relieves a person from all or some of the ramifications of a sentence, such as a person who cannot get a license for a profession because of a felony conviction. A commutation replaces a longer sentence with a shorter sentence; all death penalty cases receive a commutation hearing automatically. A reprieve — which is the most rare form of clemency with only nine filed this decade — postpones the sentence. Although all go before the Ohio Parole Board, clemency cases are not “parole hearings,” which are a separate process that allows offenders to plead their case at specific times depending on the length of their sentences. 2) A parole board investigator may interview the offender about the application. The victim or a victim’s representative, prosecutor, judge and law enforcement agency involved are notified and can weigh in. 3) The 11-member Ohio Parole Board, composed of individuals with victim’s rights, prison and public defender backgrounds, votes electronically on whether the application has merit for a hearing or submit an unfavorable recommendation to the governor without further consideration. Many decisions are made without all members voting; only a majority is needed. The director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, currently Gary Mohr, appoints up to 12 parole board members with experience in correctional work, law, social work or a combination of the three; one member must serve as the victims’ representative. Starting Sept. 30, 2011, members were limited to a pair of six-year terms, except for the chairperson and victims’ representative. Current members are paid between $81,251 and $100,876. 4) If a hearing is merited, the parole board will meet the applicant and other interested parties, including the victim and law enforcement. A favorable or unfavorable recommendation is sent to the governor after the hearing. Only one hearing on a non-death penalty commutation has been held since January 2011. 5) The governor reviews the application and parole board’s recommendation and makes his decision. Kasich has no deadline, but often responds within six or seven months of receiving the recommendation. If the applicant is denied, the individual can apply again in two years. Source: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction

More

ADVERTISEMENT

James Blose doesn’t deny that he killed his wife, but everyone from the judge who sentenced him to the victim’s children say he deserves a second chance.

But Blose, 77, is one of hundreds of applicants the state parole board says don’t need further review. In fact, only one case in more than 550 has warranted a hearing in two and a half years. Hearings have always been rare for applicants, typically the most serious offenders in prison, but 2010 and 2011 were the only years without meetings on such cases in more than a decade.

That has prisoners and their families questioning how thorough the reviews are.

Blose, a college graduate and honorably discharged U.S. Air Force veteran, killed his third wife in 2000 during a fight that ended with him shooting her four times from less than a foot away. She was having an affair, he was having suicidal thoughts, but everyone agreed Blose deserved prison.

“She died, and here I am. It is what it is,” said Blose, sitting in a meeting room at Allen Correctional Institution outside Lima. A Henry County judge sentenced him to 18 years to life in prison. Blose, of Archbold, said he never heard about an earlier plea deal of nine years.

When he applied for a shorter sentence through a clemency process called commutation, the judge in the case, the victim’s children, Blose’s children, correctional staff, friends and ex-wives all supported Blose’s request to leave early. Even the prosecutor agreed to not oppose the application.

A model prisoner with no institutional record for poor conduct in prison, Blose also was diagnosed with prostate cancer that will likely create costly bills for the prison system.

“They don’t seem to try to get reasonable people out,” Blose said.

During Gov. John Kasich’s tenure, the 11-member board has spoken with one voice on commutation hearings: no. Of the 387 commutations Kasich has denied, none received a single favorable vote from a parole board member. The board does not record a vote from all members; the most members to vote on a non-death penalty commutation was eight.

“If the parole board isn’t holding hearings, the system is not working,” said Blose’s attorney, Barry Wilford. Hearings allow all sides to present their case so the parole board can make an informed recommendation to the governor.

Intent of clemency

The drought of hearings comes as the Ohio prison system struggles with overcrowding and rising costs. The prison population has increased by 11.1 percent in the past decade and is expected to increase by another 3,000 inmates by 2019, according to a legislative oversight committee’s report. On average, it costs $22,836 to house an inmate for a year, but older, sicker prisoners such as Blose often cost more.

Ohio law specifies that the board may recommend commutations if doing so would “further the interests of justice and be consistent with the welfare and security of society.”

Ohio Parole Board Chairwoman Cynthia Mausser said commutations should be reserved for individuals whose sentences were out of bounds, not for people seeking a shorter sentence because they’ve performed well in prison. It’s rare that an application rises to that level.

“Clemency is not meant to be something that you turn to just because you want to get out of prison early,” Mausser said.

There is no requirement that the parole board hold a hearing and no time restriction to complete their review, although most are completed in four to six months, Mausser said. The board’s decisions cannot be appealed, although they can be disregarded by the governor.

But Kasich has only gone against the Ohio Parole Board’s recommendation on a commutation once, and that was for a death penalty case. Death penalty cases always receive hearings for commutations, and Kasich has commuted four murderers’ sentences.

Kasich has never commuted a sentence without a hearing, according to records from the governor’s office.

“Sometimes we see applications for folks that are convicted of murder, and there is one sentence available for murder: 15 to life. Well, a 15 to life sentence for murder is not out of bounds. That is what it is, so it’s hard to demonstrate your sentence is deserving of lesser,” Mausser said.

Wilford acknowledges that these offenders are murderers and serious offenders — people the public would prefer to keep incarcerated — but said the governor also deserves a well-researched review of the applicant.

“I don’t think we can just have a commutation form of clemency for easy or nonviolent cases. I think the door should be open to all. I think those who have had harsh punishment imposed should have a right to have that reviewed,” he said.

Worth a chance?

Edward Hill, a 47-year-old man who was the co-defendant in a double homicide, has already spent nearly half his life in prison. Hill said he wants an opportunity to plead his case to board members before his 83rd birthday.

On May 8, 1989, Hill hit Charles Sponholtz’s truck on a Belmont County Road. Hill’s brother-in-law and passenger, Donald Palmer, got into a fight with Sponholtz, ultimately shooting him. Palmer also fatally shot Steven Vargo, a driver who stopped to see what happened and help.

Although Hill did not shoot either man, he helped hide Sponholtz’ body, didn’t alert police and helped Palmer get away. Palmer was sentenced to death for the murders and was executed by lethal injection Sept. 20, 2012.

Before his death, Palmer, who did not testify at Hill’s trial, provided a sworn declaration to the parole board: “Eddie Hill neither knew nor could have anticipated that I would kill either man that day. ... Eddie Hill’s only crime that day happened after both men were shot dead. He made the poor choice of answering my pleas for help.”

Hill acknowledged his part in the crime that ended the lives of two people whose families miss them dearly.

“My co-defendant did it. I totally messed up everything from that point on,” Hill said. “I’m not asking in my commutation to be released, I’m asking for the opportunity to start asking for a second chance to start the process. ... Right now as it stands, I don’t see them till 2049.”

The Ohio Parole Board voted 6-0 not to recommend a commutation to the governor, saying: “The applicant is currently incarcerated for very serious offenses, which include the shooting deaths of 2 male victims. Nothing presented in the clemency application as mitigation outweighs the seriousness of the offense.”

Hill’s application, with the unfavorable referral from the parole board, sits on Kasich’s desk. Hill said he’d use his freedom to continue training dogs to help children with disabilities — a skill he’s honed over the past decade — and help his wife, Kim, with yard work and raising her family.

“I know if I get out, I’d be a success story,” Hill said. But he’s uncertain a small packet will convey the person he is now to overcome the seriousness of the crime he committed.

“I wish there was a way that the parole board and the governor could really know me. I know that’s just unrealistic. Maybe then, they would think that I was worth a shot to take a chance on,” Hill said.

Waiting game

Blose’s daughter, Jamie, said her family’s not looking for a “get out of jail free” card. Like Hill, they want a thoughtful review.

“We are not asking for an easy process. We are asking for a fair process or something that works,” said Jamie Blose, a stepdaughter of the deceased third wife.

Since Jan. 1, 2001, more than 1,900 people have applied for commutations and 79 have been granted hearings. Of those, 45 were given favorable recommendations from the parole board, according to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction data.

The last favorable recommendation for a non-death penalty case was Tyra Patterson, whose sentence was reduced from 43 years to life to 16 years to life in prison on Gov. Ted Strickland’s last week in office. She remains incarcerated, but can plead her case before the parole board sooner.

The last, and only, hearing in the past two and a half years occurred in April. Brittany Wilmoth, 24, applied for a commutation of her four-year sentence on robbery and theft from Brown County. The parole board did not recommend her release, and the application remains on Kasich’s desk.

The lack of hearings isn’t the only concern. Jamie Blose questioned why offenders must wait two years from the time the governor responds to apply again. Although James Blose first applied for commutation in August 2010, he must wait till March 2014 to try again.

Mausser said the two-year waiting period is to prevent a backlog and because circumstances rarely change months later. For James Blose, those are years he wants to spend purchasing a motor home to visit his family.

“I’m 77. If this goes on another couple years, I’m not going to be able to drive a motor home,” he said.